


Jasper

by Transformersfan123



Category: 9 (2009)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-01-12
Packaged: 2019-03-04 02:14:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13354353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Transformersfan123/pseuds/Transformersfan123
Summary: Jasper ran rapidly through the streets. He was astounded at the pristine condition of everything. Maybe the machines hadn't destroyed the city like the Rebels said they had. There was the sound of a gunshot and pain lanced up his arm. He cried out and ducked down another street. He looked back and slammed hard into something. That something crashed to the ground. Stand Alone. AU!





	1. Father

Jasper ran rapidly through the streets. He was astounded at the pristine condition of everything. Maybe the machines hadn't destroyed the city like the Rebels said they had. There was the sound of a gunshot and pain lanced up his arm. He cried out and ducked down another street. He looked back and slammed hard into something. That something crashed to the ground.

Jasper jerked back and found himself staring at a male. He looked to be twenty or so. His eyes were so beautiful, like liquid gold, and his hair was honey colored. He wore a cloak very similar to Jasper's, but instead of brown, it was a beautiful goldenrod. There was the sound of pounding feet and Jasper made a decision to trust him.

"H-help me! They're trying to kill me! I didn't mean to do it! It just sorta happened! Please!"

The man had stared at him with a look of shock so bad it was comical. At the word 'kill', fire snapped in those golden depths. The man grabbed his arm, luckily the one that hadn't been shot, and began dragging him along. It was then that Jasper noticed that the man didn't have shoes on. He was also just as fast as Jasper, which was shocking. Nobody was as fast as Jasper. In fact, he seemed to be slightly _faster_ than Jasper. Suddenly there were humans in front of them. One of them had a gun pointed at Jasper's chest. Their breathing was heavy. The stranger pushed Jasper behind him, standing there boldly.

"Get out of the way," the man with the gun said.

"Kevin, please! I didn't mean to do it," Jasper whimpered, gripping his wound to try to staunch the bleeding.

"You and that damned green energy. You destroyed our water supply! That's the final straw!"

Jasper saw them approach, but there was an animalistic scream. A female leaped down from a window. She had auburn hair and was lean. She, too, was barefoot and wore a cloak of orange. She was joined by a shoeless man who was enormous, and he had a cloak of black. He had to be almost seven feet tall, and he was heavily built. Very heavily. His hair was black, and his expression promised pain.

The gun switched to them, and Nine grabbed Jasper again and pulled him down another street. Jasper felt his heart trying to pound out of his chest. He knew he was going to bleed out if he wasn't careful. They finally stopped at the church. The place he'd spent so much time in prayer. His prayers for his children. The ones who were probably long dead. One probably didn't even have the chance to live. He stumbled inside and sank shakily into a pew, panting heavily. He was starting to feel light headed.

"You dared bring a human to Sanctuary?" a voice demanded.

Another voice, this one off somehow answered. _~Look in his eyes. Tell me who it is.~_

Another human, this one with hair of brown and a skinny build. He carried a strange looking staff and wore a cloak of red. He strode up to him and leaned down close. In the sunlight that filtered through the windows, he saw eyes of red peering at him.

"No," the red-eyed man gasped, pulling back.

_~Yes. Can you believe it? He's come home!~_

"Do I know you?" Jasper slurred, his vision blacking out around the edges.

"Are you alright?" the man with the staff asked.

 _~Blood!~_ the golden eyed one yelled, but…his mouth didn't move.

"I…I don't feel…" Jasper moaned and his vision faded to almost nothing.

Just before he passed out, that same strange voice spoke again. _~Don't worry, Father. We'll patch you up.~_


	2. Nine?

Jasper's eyes fluttered open and he groaned. His arm hurt and he felt dizzy and weak. Blood loss then. Judging by the burn, he'd been shot. He shakily sat up and looked around. He was in a dimly lit room, lying on a nice big bed underneath a lovely blanket. A bed? He hadn't been in a bed in at least three years. He snuggled into it, sighing in delight. After a few minutes of relishing the bed, he noticed sound floating through the wall. A beautiful piece of music. Curiosity prompted him to get up out of bed and shuffle over to the door. He opened the door and peeked out.

He counted rapidly and discovered eight people outside. But he didn't see the honey-haired individual. A hand touched his and he jumped, turning to see the one that wasn't out there. The door was gently shut and the man helped him into the bed. With a shuddering jolt, Jasper saw a nine emblazoned on the man's back as he turned to switch the light on. Nine? Could it be his precious babe?

_~You need to stay down. You lost quite a bit of blood.~_

"Yes…I was just curious."

_~Curiosity is all fine and good, but Two says that if it interferes with your health, you shouldn't do it.~_

"Yes, well…forgive me," Jasper said contritely, shivering at the number that was said as a name.

_~No need. You didn't know any better. Now relax. Dinner's almost ready. It's fried chicken, just like Maryanna used to make you.~_

"Mm. Sounds good. But that's impossible. There aren't any chickens around here."

_~Yes there are. There are cows and rabbits and chickens and pigs. There was a safe haven in the forest a few miles away. They've been wandering over here. Even if there weren't, I'm so good at soul energy that I can form meat out of dust, though it has to be dead.~_

"Oh. You're very good then."

Nine nodded. _~Not to brag, but I'm the best out of all of us.~_

"So…Nine?"

_~Yes, Father?~_

Jasper swallowed and patted the bed beside him. Nine lit up and was snuggled close in an instant. Jasper sighed and began to pet him, stroking his hair and kissing his face.

"I love you," he whispered softly.

_~And I love you, Father.~_

Jasper sat there, pressed close to his son and dozing tiredly. After ten minutes or so, there was the sound of a door opening and Jasper sat up to see the skinny, red-eyed man again. Two more humans came in. One was slightly smaller than the other and was carrying a plate of food. They both had dark brown hair. The taller of the two had an eyepatch on. The smaller one handed him his food, and Jasper saw eyes of the purest blue.

"Here you are, Father. I don't want you out of that bed. You lost quite a bit of blood."

"Which one are you?"

The man looked hurt. "Don't you recognize me?"

"How could he, Two? We still look human," the other one said.

"Oh. Of course. I'm Two, Father. This is Five."

"What happened to your eye?" Jasper asked compassionately.

Five gave a wistful smile. "A Walker took it out with a gas bomb. Nine's offered to try to make me a new one, but I told him not to bother. I don't mind having only one optic. I'm so used to it by now that I'm sure having two would throw me off something fierce."

"If I could find the materials—" Jasper started.

"Enough," the skinny man said. "In case you weren't sure, I am One. Leave Five alone. He is content the way he is. He wouldn't be himself if he had two optics. I'll tell you what I told Nine. If he ever wants another optic, you are welcome to construct him one, but until then, leave him be."

Jasper stared at him. "If you're sure, Five."

"I'm sure," Five laughed. "Now, relax and eat. You need meat on your bones. You're as skinny as One!"

"I've always been a naturally skinny individual," Jasper said as he picked up the piece of chicken with his working arm.

"Yes, but you need a little extra weight on you," Two said firmly. "Therefore, prepare to eat very well for the next month or so."

"I would love that. Food is a luxury these days."

With that he took a bite. It brought back such wonderful memories of Maryanna. He'd soon polished off everything edible on the plate. The plate had been heaping, and for the first time in a long, long, _long_ time, he was well and truly full. He was handed a wet cloth from Nine and he quickly cleaned his face, embarrassed at the way he'd gorged himself.

"Sorry. It's been a long time since I've tasted that," he muttered, handing Nine the cloth back.

One snorted. "Don't be. We've fed a meal to many a passing, and quite ravenous, human. They often try to stay, but we're too odd for them. That and there's…well, anyway. You need a shower. Five and Nine shall assist you. Any instructions, Two?"

"Keep the wound dry."

"You heard him. Get to it."

Five and Nine helped their maker to his feet and led him into the bathroom. Five started the shower and soon had it running at the perfect temperature. The two Stitchpunks-turned-human then turned their attention to their father's worn out clothes. They couldn't help but glance at each other in disgust.

"You are never wearing these again," Five said as they peeled the pants off of him. Nine phased the shirt off to keep him from lifting his arm.

"I'm keeping the cloak," Jasper said pointedly.

"No, you're not."

Jasper watched in dismay as they burst into flames right there, including his precious cloak. He couldn't dwell on it, though, as he was pushed into the shower and _warmth_ surrounded him. He moaned as his tense muscles were bombarded with liquid relaxation. He just stood there as his two children thoroughly cleaned every inch of him. When he was pretty much sparkling, they helped him out and Five wrapped a towel around him.

Nine studied him. There was the tingling sensation of soul energy being used and Jasper was suddenly wearing a pair of blue jeans. He dropped the towel in surprise.

"Oh! Why did I never think to do that?"

"It's not a common thought unless you turn into a human and are completely naked," Five said with a smile.

 _~What color shirt do you want?~_ Nine asked. _~If you even want a shirt.~_

"I'll take a shirt. And color preference?" the Scientist hummed. "Purple?"

 _~Ah, Maryanna's favorite color.~_ Nine said with a knowing smile. _~And I know the perfect shade.~_

The tingling returned and when Jasper looked down, he wore a dark purple shirt, such a beautiful color, and the exact shade that Maryanna loved so well.

"Perfect."

"He told you it would be," Five said. "Now, back into bed before Two comes after us."

Jasper nodded and shuffled into the bedroom again. He snuggled down, exhausted from the little moving about that he'd done.

"There, all cozy," Five said happily. "Come along, Nine, leave Father to rest."

"Thank you. You know, for all you've done," Jasper said, sitting up unsteadily.

"It's no trouble. After all, you made us, Father," Five replied kindly. "Goodnight."

Jasper fell into a light doze after they'd gone. When he was mostly gone, he felt a flex of power and a small weight settled over his heart. He was woken, rather suddenly, when the door banged open. One stood there, murder in his eyes, and Jasper hurriedly sat up.

"Nine! I told you not to come back in here!"

"Now, One!" Two scolded, pushing by him to stand in front of him. "Nine's doing no harm. _I_ told _you_ not to come in here and wake Father up, but you disobeyed me. Nine's doing less damage than you are right now."

"Shut up, Two! I will not have Nine disobey me again! I'm sick of his carefree attitude."

"Nine isn't in here," Jasper said, completely confused.

"Look in your lap," One growled.

Jasper blinked and looked down. There, clutching against his shirt, was a small creature with burlap skin. A Stitchpunk. Jasper lightly picked him up, staring lovingly at him.

"I forgot just how small your true forms are," Jasper crooned, stroking him lightly.

"No, no, no!" One spat, coming in and reaching for Nine. "I refuse to let him be coddled by you for disobeying me!"

Jasper pulled Nine close. "No! He's my Stitchpunk and I'll hold him if I want to. Now, I'm tired. So, go away."

"Good idea!" Two growled, shoving One out the door. "Goodnight Father."

"Goodnight."

Left alone with Nine, Jasper pulled the curtain back to stare at him. He smiled tenderly at the grateful look on the Stitchpunk's face.

_~Many thanks, Father.~_

"No problem. I never got to spend any time with you. In fact, I was sure you wouldn't wake up. You didn't while I was there. I had to give up because the Rebels stole me away."

 _~I know Father. I now have all of your memories. I love you,"_ he added suddenly.

"I love you, too," Jasper said with a smile.

_~Now, you need rest. Goodnight.~_

"Goodnight, youngest one."


	3. Machines

Jasper woke up feeling much better. He looked down to see Nine lying over his heart. The Stitchpunk was on his back hands out in front of him. He seemed to be writing something out. Green letters appeared above him as his finger traced them out. He seemed very content in what he was doing.

"Nine?"

Nine paused and looked up. _~Yes, Father?~_

"What are you doing?"

_~Writing out my visions.~_

"Visions?" the Scientist asked curiously. "You see visions like Six?"

_~And One.~_

"One?" he laughed. "I find that hard to believe."

_~Past, present, and future. We need three Stitchpunks to fill those roles. I see past, One sees present, and Six sees the future. Sometimes it crosses over, like I'll see the present or future sometimes, and the same with them.~_

"Really?"

_~Why would I lie to you about this?~_

"I don't think you would. It's just interesting."

Nine smiled at the man. _~Feel better this morning?~_

"Yes. Though…"

_~Yes?~_

"I'm afraid nature is calling."

Nine blinked then scurried off of him. Jasper sat up and swung his legs off the bed, but sat down hard when he attempted to stand up. He still felt weak from the blood loss. Nine patted his thigh then backflipped off the bed. There was a bright flash of green light and suddenly Jasper was staring at his Stitchpunk's human form. Nine stood and helped him up.

"Sorry, Nine," Jasper muttered as they settled back on the bed a few minutes later.

_~It's alright, Father. You can't help it.~_

"I don't have to very often anymore, and I'm not sure why. Maybe I'm sick?"

_~It's the Stitchpunk in you. We rarely have to use the restroom either. In Stitchpunk form, we don't have to at all, as you probably know.~_

"Makes sense."

There was a knock on the door and Two and Five walked in.

"Good morning, Father!" Five said cheerily. "How are you?"

"I'm good. I feel nice and rested, though I am hungry."

"Good. Three and Four are making toast and bacon and eggs," Two said. "Now, Nine said you're still weak, so I don't want you to move too much, but if you promise to be still, we'll help you out there and you can sit and talk with us."

Jasper nodded. "That would be nice."

Five and Nine wrapped their arms around Jasper's shoulders and they slowly began making their way out to the main room. Jasper could barely walk with their help, let alone by himself. The large man that he'd seen when he'd first bumped into Nine walked over and swept his feet out from under him, picking him up with ease.

"Where do you want him, Two?"

"Hm," Two murmured. "Nine, make a couch up against that wall over there. Make sure it's nice and soft."

Nine obeyed and Eight, for that was the only Stitchpunk it could be, carried him over to the piece of furniture and gently laid him down.

"Thank you, Eight," Jasper said, looking over his strongest creation's face. He had darker skin than the others and black eyes and hair. "How tall are you?"

"What?" Eight asked in confusion.

"Your height."

"Oh…"

_~He is six foot seven and a half inches, Maker.~_

"Ah, Thanks, Nine."

_~I am not Nine, Maker.~_

Jasper sat up, noticing that the voice in his head was slightly deeper than Nine's, if that was even possible.

"Now, now, don't scare him. We're going to introduce him to Skull first. Skull's nice and small," One said with a nod.

"Wait, who was that talking?"

"Nine, call Skull."

Nine whistled sharply and there was a flash of movement as something dashed over and jumped onto the couch beside him. Jasper froze. It was a machine. The machine looked like a large cat. It stared at him with green optics. The color of the optics gave him pause. Usually they were red.

"Why is there a machine staring at me?"

 _~He wants you to pet him.~_ Nine replied, grabbing the human's hand and guiding it over to settle it on the cat machine's head.

"He?" Jasper asked incredulously. "I didn't think machines could be male or female."

 _~Well, technically neither are we.~_ A twin replied from the stove. _~I mean in Stitchpunk form, of course.~_

The other continued. _~But we live in a world of pronouns that are masculine and feminine. Therefore, we have marked Skull, Talon, Fang, and BRAIN as masculine and refer to them as males.~_

"…Did you just say BRAIN?"

"Damn you two! I told you not to bring him up yet!"

 _~Sorry, One.~_ They replied.

"He didn't, right?" Jasper said numbly.

"Now, Father," Two said.

Jasper suddenly realized where they were. He had seen that area only once in person. He swallowed and glanced up, blinking in surprise. There was the aforementioned machine, staring at him from the ceiling. He watched as his first creation slowly lowered himself down to rest in front of him.

The Scientist laughed suddenly. "I get it. I'm dead."

 _~What do you mean, Maker?~_ BRAIN asked.

"Kevin shot and killed me in the streets and this is my weird version of heaven. Not really biblically sound, but I don't mind it too much."

The Stitchpunks and machines stared at him for a few seconds then the former burst out into joyous laughter.

"Damn!" Seven laughed. "This is better than we thought you'd be."

The Scientist turned to look at her. "What do you mean?"

"What she means is everybody else runs screaming into town and we have to find them again. They leave within twenty-four hours," another man said. He had unruly black hair and grey eyes.

"Six?"

"Who else could it be?" Six replied. "I mean, nobody else looks like me. In fact, nobody else is me."

Nine shook in laughter and patted Six's shoulder. _~You know what he meant, Six.~_

"Oh, I get it. I'm not allowed to be a smartass."

Jasper laughed. "You didn't have this much attitude when I first made you, Six."

"We all have matured some since then," One said with a smile.

"For example, One is no longer a foolish leader," Seven said with a grin; he knew it was Seven because she was the only female.

"Yet Seven is still a fool," One retorted.

"Is that still your favorite word?" Jasper asked with a snort.

"I use it more jokingly than derogatorily now, but yes," One giggled, which seemed really out of place on the leader.

Jasper smiled warmly then his stomach rumbled as a full plate was handed to him. Nine formed a table right in front of him and they settled around it and began to eat. Jasper was amazed at how exactly this reminded him of his childhood. He paused a few bites in.

"So, I'm not dead? This is real?"

 _~If you were dead, Maryanna would be here, too.~_ Nine said quietly, meeting green eyes with his golden ones.

Jasper felt himself go numb. "True…" he whispered. He suddenly felt sick and pushed his plate away. "I'm not hungry anymore."

Five, who was sitting to his left, wrapped an arm around him. "Now, Father, you need to eat. If you are wounded as a human, a good, steady diet helps speed your recovery. We cannot just stitch you up and you feel all better. Muscle and tissue have to knit back together. That takes energy, which you get from food. So please try to eat."

Jasper shook his head. "I don't feel like eating."

Nine looked away. _~I'm sorry, Father. I didn't mean to upset you.~_

"It's just been awhile since I've thought of her," the Scientist muttered, placing his elbows on the table and putting his head in his hands. "And I know I shouldn't, but I feel…"

"Guilty," Six said. "But there's nothing you could've done to stop it. It's time to move on."

"I'm not guilty about that. I feel guilty because I haven't thought of her in a while," Jasper sighed. "I promised myself when she died that I'd always remember her. My always is longer than I expected to be alive."

"There's nothing wrong with remembering her, Father," One said. "But you shouldn't obsess over her. It's not healthy and it leads nowhere."

Jasper felt tears threaten to fall and he bit his bottom lip. Emotions were frowned upon in the group.

 _~Maker?~_ BRAIN asked gently.

Jasper shook his head. The table was suddenly five feet away and Jasper nearly fell on his face. He was caught by One, who tucked the human's head under his chin. He shushed him gently, rocking him back and forth. The soft, tender touches broke the poor toymaker. He clutched at One, sobbing his pain out. Whether minutes or hours had passed, he didn't know, but his tears finally ceased, however he still pressed close to his little Stitchpunk-turned-human. One held him until he sat up. One's hands dashed to his face to wipe away the tear tracks. A kiss to his forehead made Jasper smile.

"Thank you. I haven't had a good cry in a while. It's frowned upon unless you're under eight."

"Nonsense. Everybody needs to express their emotions," Two said with a sharp nod. "It's unhealthy to not to."

"Doesn't matter if it's healthy or not. It slows down the group."

"That's a very bad philosophy," Five said with a scowl.

"It's what I've had to live by for fourteen years."

"Well, you're home now, and you can cry whenever you feel the need to, be it happy or sad. We shall do our best to comfort you," One said, nodding solemnly.

"Home? I can stay here with you?"

"Well we're not sending you out with the morons who shot you," Eight said blandly.

"Kevin…I don't want to go back with them. They hate me. What I can do…"

"What can you do?"

 _~He's talking about his soul energy. From what Kevin said, he's much like Six was. He has very little control over it.~_ Nine said with a nod.

"Oh, well that's mostly from holding it back, Father," Six said, smiling softly. "We can teach you how to use it properly."

"I would greatly appreciate it," Jasper said with a sigh. He paused. "I think I'll take that breakfast now."

"Excellent!" Five exclaimed and the table was back in place.

The food was superb, and Jasper again ate everything offered to him. He then lay down to take a nap, very pleased. His creations were so kind, so gentle, so considerate. And the way One had held him. As if he actually mattered…It was a nice thought, but he knew he didn't. He deserved none of this. At all. Maybe when he woke up, he would be back home with Maryanna. Yeah, and she'd be laughing and playing with her toys and…mm.


	4. Zero

Jasper woke to the smell of ham. Honey-glazed with brown sugar melted on top. His belly complained that it was hungry again. He opened his eyes and found two sets of eyes looking at him. They dashed to meet his and the twins froze.

 _~Sorry.~_ They both said at the same time, backing up a few steps.

"Don't be," he yawned, sitting up with great effort. "If I recall correctly, you catalogued everything but me when you were back home."

 _~If you don't mind, Father.~_ Three said hesitantly. _~Maybe we could—~_

_~—catalogue you? If you don't mind.~_

_~Of course if you let us_.~ Three added.

_~Then Nine will want to catalogue you, too.~_

"I don't mind," Jasper said, smiling kindly. He paused. "Nine catalogues?"

 _~Yes.~_ They answered.

"Lunch is ready," Six said, bringing a plate to Jasper. The man struggled to sit up, wheezing in pain. Three and Four quickly helped him. He took the plate and ate his fill as everybody else sat in comfortable looking chairs around him. One watched him carefully.

"So, you never said anything earlier," the Stichpunk-turned-human said.

"What do you mean?" Jasper asked.

"About staying with us."

The Scientist swallowed another bite of the delicious ham, glancing down at his plate. "Well, there's an abundance of food, you are all alive and well and seem to want to be around me, and you're helping me to heal from my wound. If you want me to stay, I see no reason why I shouldn't."

"Of course we want you to stay!" Two exclaimed. "We've missed you. We really didn't realize how much we didn't know about you until we couldn't find out more. It will be good to have you here."

Jasper felt his face warm. "That's very kind of you to say. I'm not used to such things."

"Well, you better get used to them," Seven replied.

Three and Four plopped down on either side of him once dinner was done, and they shyly began to run their fingers down his arms. He settled back, smiling.

"Don't touch his wound," Two instructed.

"And don't make him uncomfortable," One added.

Jasper closed his eyes and let them catalogue. After a few minutes, he could feel sharp eyes on him. He glanced over to see Nine looking greedily at Three and Four.

"If you want to catalogue, you're welcome to," Jasper said with an encouraging smile.

Nine was there in a heartbeat, eagerly taking in the man he'd never known with his eyes and hands. After half an hour, One shooed them away.

"He needs rest. You can catalogue more later."

Jasper lay down tiredly, staring up at BRAIN, who watched him.

"You know, you're nice when you aren't killing people."

_~You are tired, Maker. You should rest.~_

The Scientist yawned and curled up, shivering in slight pain as he shifted wrong. He knew it wasn't a dream now. It was far too weird to be considered normal, but it wasn't a dream. An idea struck his tired mind, and he smiled to himself. Father was such a nice term, but it put him higher than them. When he woke up, he would ask to be called Zero. Hopefully, they would like it. He knew he did.


End file.
